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New Book Examines the Role of Emerging Technologies in Development

"Can Emerging Technologies Make a Difference in Development?" is a new book edited by IRG2 researchers Rachel Parker and Rich Appelbaum which examines the impact of nanotechnology and other emerging technologies on economic development. It contains seventeen essays exploring the promise and perils of high-tech approaches to development, and what this means for global governance. In this innovative and entirely original text, which has been thoughtfully edited to ensure coherence and readability across disciplines, scientists and practitioners from around the world provide evidence of the opportunities for, and the challenges of, developing collaborative approaches to bringing advanced and emerging technology to poor communities in developing countries in a responsible and sustainable manner. This volume will stimulate and satisfy readers seeking to engage in a rich and challenging discussion, integrating many strands of social thought and physical science. For those also seeking to creatively engage in the great challenges of our times for the benefit of struggling farmers, sick children, and people literally living in the dark around the world, may this volume also spark imagination, inspire commitment, and provoke collaborative problem solving.

Author Biography

Rachel A. Parker is a Research Staff Member at the IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute. She received her PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara where she worked with Richard Appelbaum at the NSF-funded Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, Center for Nanotechnology in Society; her research focuses on issues relating to emerging technologies and globalization.

Richard P. Appelbaum is MacArthur Chair in Global & International Studies and Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is co-PI at the NSF-funded Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, Center for Nanotechnology in Society, where he directs the interdisciplinary research group on globalization and nanotechnology.